Karnataka Lokayukta Act: Law department begins consultation

Bengaluru, July 8: The Karnataka Law department has begun consultations on amending the Karnataka Lokayukta Act as there is a great deal of confusion that is prevailing. The problem that the government is facing is whether the provisions of the Judges (Inquiry) Act needs to be implemented or should action be considered under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act.

However sources in the law department tell OneIndia that there will be a series of changes that would be made to the Karnataka Lokayukta Act and most important one being regulating the functioning of the Lokayukta.

Yesterday the Law Department had suggested to the government that the provisions under the Judges (Inquiry) Act needs to be followed. However this is the same act which is in force when dealing with judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court. The question is how much of it could be applied to the Lokayukta who is a retired judge.

The other confusion that was prevailing was over the number of legislators that were needed to move a motion in the Assembly or the Council to seek the removal of the Lokayukta. As per the Judges Inquiry Act there is a need to have at least 50 council members or 100 assembly members to move a motion seeking the removal of a Lokayukta. However this provision is missing in the Karnataka Lokayukta Act.

The Law department will work on the recommendations given by legal experts and also the Advocate General and fix this problem. There is a need to bring in clarity to this issue or else the same will linger on forever a senior advocate in the law department informed.

The controversy:

The entire controversy began when corruption charges were leveled against the Lokayukta of Karnataka. The opposition demanded a CBI probe into the issue, but the government went ahead and instituted a probe by the Special Investigating Team. The High Court of Karnataka too upheld the probe being conducted by the SIT and said that it shall submit its report.

Justice Bhaskar Rao, who is the Lokayukta made it clear that he will not step down unless the final SIT probe is out. The opposition however tried moving a motion in the assembly and the council seeking the removal of the Lokayukta. However due to immense confusion the entire process was stalled forcing the government to seek an amendment to the Lokayukta Act.

OneIndia News